NMR spectroscopy and imaging are important for many fields, e.g., physics, chemistry, materials sciences, biology and medicine. For example, NMR has been used extensively to understand subsurface rock formation, oil reservoirs and water aquifers. Well-logging NMR has also been applied to the characterization of near surface water aquifers that are typically within 500 feet of the surface with the application in water reservoir characterization increasing rapidly.
In petroleum exploration, the use of a well-logging NMR device has been used to perform NMR measurement and logging for many years. There are also known relationships between NMR measurements and the petrophysical properties of the rock formations. The electronics used in both laboratory NMR and those used for other industrial applications, such as well-logging, are bulky and may be inconvenient to use for many applications that require mobility. They may also be costly which limits their broader applications.